Now it appears that he is set to sign for UAE side Al Wahda. Countrywide newspaper thenational.ae quotes sources close to Al Wahda as saying “Cahill’s performance at the Asian Cup and the World Cup last year has really caught the eye of the Wahda top management and we can say a tentative deal is in place. There is nothing formal yet though and we will have to wait until the end of the Asian Cup before a formal deal is signed.”

Cahill fuelled the rumour himself last year when he said “The Middle East is growing and it’s somewhere that I enjoy coming to a lot and in the future it’s where I could possibly be playing football. The UAE is such a fantastic country with great people and a great lifestyle as well. It’s something that’s really nice.”

Ironically, he could ruin the UAE’s Asian Cup dreams on Tuesday, when his Australia side face the gulf nation in the semi final. South Korea await the winners in the final.